Aniline-Modified Polypropylene as a Compatibilizer in Polypropylene Carbon Nanotube Composites

Maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) was reacted with aniline (NH2C6H5) to produce PP-g-NHC6H5 and used as a compatibilizer in polypropylene/carbon nanotube composites. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed the reaction between PP-g-MA and aniline. PP-g-NHC6H5 resulted a better compatibilizer than PP-g-MA, producing good dispersion and homogeneous distribution of the carbon nanotubes with less agglomerates, as observed by SEM analysis. Improved dispersion and distribution is assumed to be due to the - interactions between the -C6H5 ring in the prepared compatibilizer and the hexagonal carbon structure in the nanotubes. In addition, a higher degree of crystallinity (12%) was promoted, since it was favored by - interactions. This achieved higher crystallinity promoted an increase in tensile modulus, with only slight changes in tensile strength but with an adverse effect on elongation at break. [GRAPHICS] .